Just Human
by Unexpainable Awesomeness
Summary: Phyre's on the run with her siblings and best friend, J. The souls took everything they ever knew except each other. But Diesel shows up one day and changes everything. What's up with Star, the soul Phyre insisted they take with them. How does Diesel know her? Will Phyre fall for Diesel or J? Who will win her heart? I know it doesn't sound too promising. It's better than it sounds!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! So, I know I already have a fanfiction I'm working on, but I had this idea and just had to write it down. I hope you like it! Also, I had a story on here that I took off with some really cool names. Those characters will come back if you read that story. Here's the story!**

**Phyre POV**

I gripped my knife tightly in my right hand as I aimed at the target, squinting in the sunlight as it shines through the leaves. I pull my arm back and throw the knife as hard and fast as I can. When I look at it, I see the knife in the middle, bull's eye.

"Bull's eye, again," I say cheerfully. I turn to see J standing there, leaning against a tree trunk. He pushes off and walks towards the target. I watch as he pulls the knife out without any trouble.

"You threw it with a sense of urgency, which is good because you will most likely have to throw with urgency, depending on the situation. Nice throw, by the way," He says as he casually walks over to me. He stabs the nearest tree and takes a gun from the top of the tree, handing it to me. "You should really practice your shooting again. You haven't shot in a while and that's a skill vital to your survival," I roll my eyes as I take the gun.

"I know, J. I know. I'm 17 now. I think I know what I need to know to survive out there,"

"Well, you're not alone. You have me to always have your back. But you also have to think about Earth and Luca. They need their older sister," I sigh. The twins are my pride and joy, considering my parents can't be here to help raise them. All I have is my best friend, who is basically my older brother. J was my neighbor ever since I moved into our old neighborhood when I was 3 and he was 4. We would sometimes ride our bikes to the park, but he mainly taught me how to skateboard and when we got older, how to shoot once he noticed my deadly accuracy.

"I know, J. We have to protect them at all costs, ok?" He nods and I turn the safety off my gun. I practically don't aim and shoot, hitting a bull's eye. I turn the safety back on, putting the hand holding the gun on my hip as I lean against a tree. "Must I practice my shooting anymore?" He laughs and takes the gun, putting it back in the tree, the twins' laughter echoing through the forest.

~Line Break~

We start walking back towards camp, going faster and faster as the seconds tick by. I start to worry about the twins, even though I hear them and know that they're fine. I still can't help but worry about their safety. J takes my arm, yanking me back.

"Hey!" I say, about to tell him off, when he puts a finger to his lips, grabbing his gun from the holster. I take my knife out of my boot and spin in a small, silent circle. I hear him turn the safety off and I narrow my eyes, searching the trees as I know he'll be searching the ground. I see a small movement about 12 trees behind us and take a silent step in that direction, starting up a tree. I point to the tree I saw the movement in and he starts climbing the tree beside mine. We get to the third branches and stare at the tree. I see motion out of the corner of my left eye and turn just in time to see a figure land silently on the branch behind J. My eyes widen as the figure pulls their arms back, holding something. I throw my knife and it glides through the air, hitting the figure. With a grunt, they fall out of the tree. J turns to me, eyes wide with confusing, gratitude, and fear.

We hop out of our trees and run to the figure, who's trying to get away, but seems to have landed badly on their leg. As we get closer, I see the figure seems to be a girl, holding her leg with care. She looks up; her short boy cut hair swinging in her eyes. I gasp, realizing it's actually a guy. I fight off the blush as I thank the God that may or may not be there that I didn't say 'It's a girl' out loud. The situation would have only been much more awkward than it already will be. He glares at us.

"You know, screaming would have worked just as good," He says, a certain sparkle in his eyes, which are a beautiful grey, the color of the sky when the sun is just about to rise. I roll my eyes, trying to pretend he hasn't made an impression on me.

"That takes half the fun away. What's the point of having great aim and a weapon and never use it except when hunting animals," I answer. J puts his hand on my shoulder and steps closer to the boy with the grey eyes.

"Who are you?" He asks. The boy grins at us, a grin that makes my heart flutter inside my chest.

"I'm Diesel,"

~Line Break~

"What kind of name is that? And where did you _come _from?" I ask. "When we searched the woods last night, we didn't find you. Did you just now happen upon us?" He laughs.

"What century are you from, babe? Because you obviously aren't from this one," I take one threatening step towards him.

"Don't call me babe, understand?" He puts his hands up, palms facing me.

"Whatever you say, Your Highness," I kick him in the ribs, making him bend forwards, gripping his ribs tightly. J pulls me back from Diesel, but I feel better now. "Ok," He says, his voice showing pain, whether it was real pain or not, I couldn't tell. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you have some gingers in your family," I glare at him, tossing my bright red locks behind my shoulders.

"No, I'm from a family of blondes and brunettes. Not a single ginger," I say, sarcasm dripping off my words like acid. He grins at me.

"I like you. What's your name, anyways, gingersnap?" I start to stomp towards him, but J holds me back. "Ok, redhead, you going to fix me up? You _did _cause me a lot of pain. The right thing to do would be to take care of me while I heal," I roll my eyes and throw a water bottle at him, which he catches mid air and takes a long, exasperated drink from. I roll my eyes and turn to J.

"I'm going to go back to camp. You can take care of _him,_" I say, making it evident that I didn't like Diesel. His tan skin shins in the sunlight as I turn, walking back to camp. I have a strange feeling that his grey eyes are following me as I walk towards the twins.

~Line Break~

"Phyre!" Earth says as both her and Luca run towards me, their small arms wrapping around my legs. I laugh a little and bend down, hugging them to me tightly.

"Hey, guys. Having fun?" They nod.

"Yeah! Luca and me had a poke war, which I won, and then we played tag!" I smile at them and their enthusiasm as Luca nods, expressing his excitement through motion instead of words.

"That's fantastic. Are you two hungry?" They nod in unison and I smile, patting the top of Luca's red hair and running my fingers through Earth's long red curls that are reaching past her shoulders now. Luca's hair is getting in his eyes now, too. "We need to cut our hair again. It's starting to get long,"

"Where's J?" Luca asks, staring up at me with his big green eyes, the eyes that look exactly like mine and Earth's. Everyone used to say that they looked just like me, but now I see more of Mom and Dad in them instead of me. I smile at them, not wanting my thoughts to change my face into any expression that might make them think he's gone.

"He's fine. Just in the woods for a little bit longer, that's all. Come on, let's get some of those cookies we got on the last raid," They clap and I lead their bouncing bodies over to the food cases. I pull out the box of cookies and hear grunting coming from the trees. We turn to see J helping a limping Diesel into camp. The twins immediately run to J, asking him who that was with him and why he was walking funny. J laughed a little and started to answer their questions as he helped Diesel into one of our chairs. Diesel just watched the twins, looking at them strangely.

"What's the matter? Never seen kids before?" I ask. He rolls his eyes, but it's half-hearted. He sighs and stares at them as J chases them, their laughter and giggles echoing throughout the camp, making me smile.

"They remind me of me and my brothers. We used to run, race each other. We could run for miles before we would stop and realize that we should head home. We would run half way, but walk the rest, laughing and shoving each other into things, tripping over tree roots," He's silent for a moment as he stares blankly at a tree across from us.

"How many-" I start to ask him, but he cuts me off, already expecting my question.

"Three. Nico, my step-brother, Grant, and Michael. I had a step sister, Kimber, who was Nico's older sister, who was my favorite person in the world. I loved her so much, you know? She cared about people so much…."He keeps staring at the tree, almost as if he's waiting for it to jump up and down and attack him. I guess we're all waiting for the simple things to attack us. Our own people have attacked us before, why not now?

"I'm sorry," I say. He looks at me and I swear those beautiful grey eyes had tears in them. They disappear, though, whether they were real or not, they're gone now. He grins, making my heart flutter involuntarily. _No,_ I tell it. _You can't flutter for him, or anyone else. You'll only get broken. We don't need that after everything we've been through. _I realize that I was talking to an organ and mentally slap myself. I swear that I'm going crazy, so far from civilization.

"It's fine, gingersnap. So, what about you, while on the topic of our past. What kind of family did you have?" I watch the twins as J grabs Earth, spinning her around as she giggles and laughs.

"Well, my parents were from Utah, which was where I was born. We lived there until I was 2, which was when my dad was transferred to London. He was transferred a lot more when I started getting older. He was in the military, you see," He nodded and I took that as a sign to continue. "So, we were transferred to East Tennessee when I was 6. We had been in Germany for two years at that point. So, when we moved back to the U.S, it was a big change. But my mom was smart and had me trained in every major language, so I knew English. That still couldn't prepare me enough for Tennessee. That's a southern state, so the people there were pretty country. My parents had bought a cabin on this hill in the middle of this small subdivision that was very open. The subdivision wasn't really a subdivision, more like properties with huge amounts of land beside each other. There was a lake on our property and we would swim in it during the summer.

"When I turned 9, Dad retired from the military. My parents and I decided to stay there in the country and a few months later, the twins were born, Luca and Earth,"

"Those are really cool names, by the way," I smile at him and nod.

"Yeah. They liked odd names, my parents. That would explain mine,"

"You never answered my question, gingersnap. What is your odd name?" I roll my eyes, but his grey ones are focused on me, and only me. I sigh and stick out my hand.

"Phyre Rhodes," He takes my hand in his, shaking it up and down.

"Diesel Streams," I smile.

"What a pleasure to meet you," He shakes his head. "What?"

"The way you talk is so weird,"

"Well, I used to be quite the reader. I mostly read classics before the invasion," He snaps and smiles brightly, the pride evident on his face.

"That explains it all! No wonder you talk so weird! Jane Austen's warped your mind!" I laugh at him and glance down, realizing that we're still holding hands. I pretend I haven't noticed and look back at the twins and J. The twins are on J's shoulders, Earth on the left and Luca on the right. They're laughing, but J's face is red from trying not to drop them or fall himself. I stand up and walk towards them, Diesel's hand reaching for mine as I walk, clapping and smiling.

**Diesel POV**

I watch as she walks closer to them, my hand still reached out towards her.

"Ok, guys. Let's get you two off of him and get something to eat. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty hungry," She reaches for Earth and spins her around before standing her up beside J. She does the same with Luca, making him laugh. J pats her shoulder, draping his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. They start walking towards me and I bury my jealously towards J and smile.

"I agree with you. But, then again, I haven't eaten in about three weeks," Phyre gasps.

"How are you not dead yet?" She asks. J stands there, glaring at me silently, reminding me about our conversation in the woods before he brought me into the camp. I shrug.

"It's Diesel Magic, gingersnap," She rolls her eyes, which I'm beginning to realize is a habit of hers. She starts to help me up, but J immediately takes over. Phyre runs over to the food area with the twins. J takes the opportunity to threaten me.

"I've warned you, pipsqueak. Touch her, I'll kill you. Stay away from her," His voice is hard, serious. I nod slightly.

"I understand. Whether I like it or not, I'm going to live with it. Also, I don't even know her so…"Before he can answer, we get to Phyre and the twins, all offering food to me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, I currently have no reviews for this story. 11 people have clicked on it. I don't know if you read it, but it would be very kind of you to tell me what you think if you actually started reading this. If you're reading "Wandering Home," I want to apologize for not updating that in so long, but I only have wireless internet and my most recent chapter is on my main computer, which is 7 pages long. I'm stupid, so I lost my flashdrive somewhere so I can't put it on a flashdrive and work on it here. That's why I'm writing this. Sorry for my mini rant, but I had to tell you guys that. Ok, here's chapter 2!**

**Phyre POV**

I hand the food, which is just granola bars, to Earth and Luca and help Diesel into the chair beside mine. We sit down around our "table", which is really just a sort of big tree stump. J and I have tried our best to make Luca and Earth's lives as normal as possible. We even have school, which wasn't fun to go through or teach. I teach them history, literature, which is supposed to be English, but that's not as important as literature, and science, all my best subjects. J teaches the reject subjects, which are evil, like math.

Diesel reaches out toward his granola bar, which J placed just out of his reach. I put my hand over it and he looks up at me. I shake my head.

"Not yet. We haven't said Grace yet," Even though the world has ended, I still believe in my religion, whether I'm optimistic in God or not, or really think He's there, I will always do the things that I always have. I take Earth's hand and she takes Luca's who takes J's. I look over at Diesel, his bright grey eyes staring at me curiously as I reach my hand out towards him, palm facing the sky. I motion for him to take it. Slowly, cautiously, he takes it. I smile slightly and close my eyes and say Grace. When I open my eyes, Diesel's staring at me, his face blank of all emotion. He squeezes my hand gently, though, before I take my hand away. I pretend not to notice and reach for my water with that hand, grabbing my granola bar with the other. J clears his throat and I turn to look at him as I take a bite of my granola bar.

"We're going to have to go on a raid soon," He says. I sigh. I knew we needed to, but I thought we would be able to hold out a little longer. "We should have left at least 2 days ago. And now with our newest addition-" J sends a hard look to Diesel. I send a look to J, but he ignores it. Diesel keeps his head down during our exchange, though. "-we need to leave by tomorrow. We'll starve if we stay out here any longer," I glare at the table, but look up to see Earth and Luca staring at it, too. We're so much alike, it sometimes scares me. I nod slightly and look up to see his face happy-ish. I know he likes raids. He likes the adrenaline to pump through his body as he runs while being chased. If I hadn't taken him with us, he'd probably be out there in the cities, wreaking his havoc, the havoc only a human could make. I prefer to be safe. But I think it's an instinct, considering that I have my little siblings to think about. If I went out there, going crazy in the cities, making sure the souls knew I was there, stealing their food, my siblings wouldn't ever be safe. All I care about is surviving and making sure they stay human.

Diesel raises his head, along with his hand, that has two fingers pointing upward. He points to J.

"Does everyone go on the raids?" He asks. I nod.

"Yeah," Diesel turns to look at me as I talk. "We have to. J says that he wants to make sure that everyone stays safe and he says that I need someone to make sure that I don't burn everything to the ground," I roll my eyes and the twins laugh.

"Well, if we weren't here, you probably would. You tend to be a little clumsy, despite your awesome accuracy," Luca points out. I fake hurt, but break out into a grin before I can finish, making everyone laugh lightly. I sigh contently and take another bite of my granola bar. I don't even like them. I don't know why I got them in the first place. We start joking around and the sun starts to set. J lights a small fire and we sit around it, telling stories from our pasts. The twins start to yawn so I help them up and take them to the tent. I zip them up in their sleeping bags, but they open them slightly, sticking their arms out.

"Will you sing to us, Phyre?" Earth asks me. I smile at her and nod.

"Of course, love. What do you want me to sing?" I ask them. They smile brightly at me.

"Would you sing Gravity?" I smile and nod as I clear my throat as I begin to sing the lullaby Mom sang to us when we were little.

"Something always brings me back to you.

It never takes too long.

No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here 'til the moment I'm gone.

You hold me without touch.

You keep me without chains.

I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your reign.

"Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity.

Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be.

But you're on to me and all over me.

"You loved me 'cause I'm fragile.

When I thought that I was strong.

But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone.

"I live here on my knees as I try to make you see that you're everything I think I need here on the ground.

But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go.

The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down." I go high on the last word, my eyes closed in consentration as I see Mom sitting on the bed, singing to us.

"You're keeping me down, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

You're on to me, on to me, and all over." I sit still for a moment, not singing for a little as I play out the song in my head.

"Something always brings me back to you.

It never takes too long." I open my eyes as Earth and Luca clap, Luca whistling like Grandma showed us how. I hear clapping behind me and I feel my eyes widen as I turn around sharply, seeing J and Diesel, who's leaning against J, clapping for me.

"Bravo!" Diesel says as he whistles, too. The twins get louder and the guys do the same. I quiet everyone down, my face almost as red as my hair, and thank them. "No, thank _you._ That was very pretty, gingersnap," I roll my eyes at the nickname he seems to have given me and like. J hugs me tightly, squeezing the air out of me. I laugh a little and start patting his shoulders.

"Ok, ok! I need to breathe to sing!" I say. He laughs, his lips right next to my ear, his breath moving my hair as he lets me go. "Ok. I'm tired now. Let's just go to bed. We have to leave early tomorrow," I say, groaning at the end of my sentence. J and Diesel laugh at me, but the twins groan with me. They don't like getting up early any more than I do.

~Line Break~

I wake up to someone shaking my shoulders lightly, but forcefully. J. I open my eyes and see him looking over at something to my right. I turn my head to see Earth helping Luca out of his bed. I look back at J, who's still watching them. I put my hands on his and he stops shaking me, looking at me. I groggily look at him and he smiles, letting my shoulders go.

"She's awake now," J says, looking back at Diesel, who balances himself on crutches J must have made him. I wonder when J had the time to make them. J stands up and picks up Luca and they walk out of the tent. Diesel waves a little and I smile at him and he hobbles out of the tent. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and sit up, keeping my eyes closed a second too long. I forcefully will myself to wake up as I stand up, pulling a t-shirt on and some jeans, stepping into my hiking boots. I walk out of the tent and start towards a tree stump and start lacing up my boots. I do the little rhyme in my head as I tie them up, doing a square knot to make sure they stay tied in case we have to run in a short amount of time. I look up and start to get up when I hear the sound of crutches hitting the ground. I turn to see Diesel hobbling towards me. He grins at me as he gets closer to me. I smile at him when he gets to me.

"Hey, gingersnap. Sleep good?" I nod.

"Yep. When did you get the crutches, cripple?" He laughs lightly and points at me.

"That's a good one, there. J made them last night. We couldn't sleep so we stayed up a while and talked while he made me some crutches. These are actually the third pair. The other pairs weren't strong enough to hold me up, which didn't help my leg heal at all when I toppled over," I laugh a little.

"I wish I could have watched J make them. He gets this look on his face when he's making something. I think it's funny," I say as I stare at the twins as they run around, poking things with "swords", which are really just sticks.

"How long have you guys known each other, gingersnap?" He asks after a few minutes. I pause, thinking about everything in a matter of seconds.

"Since I was 6 and he was 7," I answer. The twins are now having a "sword fight" and I can see potential in them as they play.

"How old are you now?" He asks. I look at him. His face is only showing curiosity, but he seems to be hiding something.

"How old are _you_?" I ask, trying to see if this game will work like it does with J. He rolls his eyes.

"If I amswer first will you answer?" I nod. He nods, too, seeming to be expecting that answer. "I'm 19. I'll be 20 in March, but who knows when that is anymore," I feel tears rise in my eyes, thinking, for a split second, that we should ask my dad. He'd be the only one who would know now. I know he saw them, but he thankfully chose to ignore them. I hold them back. I won't cry. I haven't cried since the first day we went on the run and had to leave my parents behind.

"I'll be 18 next year in September," He smiles.

"What about the twins?" He asks. I smile with pride.

"They'll be 8 in August," His grey eyes twinkle, but he doesn't reply. "Where are you from, Diesel?" His eyes get brighter.

"Ashville, North Carolina. You probably don't know where that is, but it had the best mall. I took all my dates there. Biltmore's there, just outside of town," I nod.

"I've been to Biltmore before. It was so beautiful. But then, I started watching this British TV show-"

"What was it? The TV show?" He asks.

"'Doctor Who', which was fabulous," I say, smiling as I remember the epicness of the show. "So, they had these weeping angel statues and we went back a few months after I started watching the show and I was so scared," He laughs a little, but nods seriously.

"I watched it sometimes. The first one I watched was 'Blink', and I never loked at a statue the same," He shudders and I do, too. J walks up to us and I smile at him.

"That was really nice to make Diesel some crutches, J," I say as he gets closer. He rolls his eyes.

"I didn't make them to be nice," He says as he gets up to us. "I made them to keep him out of my personal space. It's not fun having to lug someone around," He looks at him with fake irritation. I laugh with Diesel and pat J's shoulder as I walk towards the twins, who have long since finished their "sword fight" and taken up the task of finding worms and cutting them in half and watching as both halves develope conciences and part ways.

"You guys shouldn't torture poor little worms," I say as I get them up. They roll their eyes.

"It's not torturing them. They still live and continue their life," Luca says. Earth agrees and I smile.

"Ok, then. We have to leave now, though," They sigh and we walk back over to the guys, who now have the tent put up along with everything else we have stuffed in bags. I take the sleeping bags and water containers and stand at the edge of the clearing. Diesel hobbles his crippled body beside me, backpacks on his shoulders. The twins get the pillows and the clothes bags and J gets the tent and food. We start walking and pretty soon, the sun rises, showering us in bright light that blinds us at times. We have to go slower than we usually do because of Diesel and his crutches.

"We can probably steal some of the parasites' medicine and heal it," Diesel shakes his head at my suggestion.

"I'll be fine. My leg's been sprained before," He says. I roll my eyes at how stubborn he is and keep going. After a few hours, we stop and eat some granola bars and soon stumble upon a small cave big enough to fit us and our stuff. We're close enough to a small town that we won't need to steal a car, that we can run easily into the town and back quickly. As Diesel and the twins start putting everything inside the cave, J and I head out to scope out the area and the town we'll raid later tonight.

We get to the edge of the forest, hiding the the trees and shrubbery, watching the parasites as they go about their business, not even realizing they're being watched. We sit there for hours. When we arrived there, it was still light outside, but it's gotten dark now. I look at J and he nods. No parasite has had lights on in their house for hours. We start down, soon reaching the road. We look both ways before walking across the street towards the first house. We open the door quietly and J slips in as I look around, making sure that I don't see headlights that could be the parasites that live here.

Once I'm inside, I stop, silently looking around, trying to hear where he is. I hear a quiet noise in the kitchen and whistle softly as I walk in. He turns cautiousely and sees me standing there. He lets a breath blow out of his mouth and smiles at me, tossing me a garbage bag. I open it and start opening cabinets, trying to find things in the back that will last a long time. I get five cans of soup that we can eat when J and I get back to the little cave and eight water bottles in my bag when I close the refridgerator. J looks at me and I nod. He nods back and we go out the back door and walk through the yard towards the store that's beside the house.

I've always prefered raiding stores for food instead because you can get much more without one of them getting suspicious and sending Seekers out into the woods. We walk in and I go towards the left while he goes to the right. I put in more clothes for us and a few pairs of sunglasses in case we have to go out of the woods during the day. I find a few cute hats and get some of those, too. J and I switch sides and I get some pads and tampons for me and start getting more food. I find some cookies and toss them in for the twins. I get lots of canned food that will last a long time and I whistle, signallying that my bag's full. I see something black fly towards me through the air and catch it, knowing it's another garbage bag. I open it and fill half the bag with more food.

After being in the store for about 15 minutes, we stop and walk out the back way. We start jogging through town, stopping at random houses for food and clothes and find a hospital. We go to the back and find crates with labels on them. No Pain was the one closest to me and I poke J, underlining it with my finger. He shrugs and we quietly bust open the crates. Medium sized bottles labeled No Pain are stacked top to bottom. I take out my knife and slit my palm. The air stings it, making a slight pain. J grabs that hand and looks at me like I'm insane. I open one of the bottles and take out a strip. He looks at me and shakes his head. I know what he's thinking. _You could die, Phyre. _He would say. But I shake my head back and put it on my tongue and swallow. Immediately, the stinging in my hand stops. Everything, including the bruises all over me, have stopped hurting. I feel good as new. J starts opening other crates and finds one that says Heal on the top. He rushes over to me and pours the stuff into my hand. I supress a laugh as I watch the skin start to knit together.

"It tickles," I whisper softly. He smiles and open his garbage bag, throwing half the crate in there. I take some No Pain and find some other things. I got Cool, Clean Inside, and Clean Outside. I have no idea what any of it does, but this is medicine and we will most definately need it. We jog back, trying to make it to the forest before we start walking again when I see a flash of light in front of us. We stop and lean against the building we happened to be behind at the moment. The light seems to be coming from a flashlight and J takes my arm, pulling me back farther away from the light as it gets closer to us. I keep my eyes on it, not daring to look away in fear that it'll shine on some part of me. J yanks me back hard to the other side of the house before it shines on me. He starts running, draggin me behind him. I turn as we run and see a small girl, a flashlight in her shaking hands. I stop, pulling him with me. I can tell he's having trouble holding in his anger at me as I point to her. He studies her as she turns, flipping the flashlight towards her face. Nothing flashes back.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm happy 2 people have told me that you like this so far. I need to be told, though, or those of you who like it won't get anymore. I'm continuing, though, so don't worry! Here's chapter 3!**

**Phyre POV**

I take a step towards the little girl, but J grips my arm tightly, causing me to glare at him.

"What?" I mouth to him. He shakes his head and points at her. I look to see her standing there, tears in her eyes. She turns around to stare silently at the house we were just behind. I look back at him, motioning towards her. "She needs us," I mouth. He shakes his head.

"She'll be fine," He mouths. I shake my head and pull my arm out of his grasp and start jogging silently towards her. She still has her back to me as I get to her. I decide to lean against the house she's still standing beside.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" I say. She gasps and turns towards me slowly, staring at me wide eyed. I smile at her and stick my hand out towards her. She looks back from my face to my hand and shrinks away from me. I don't take it to heart, though, that she doesn't trust me. "I'm Phyre, by the way," I smile lightly and look up at the sky, watching the stars twinkle in the inky blue. I feel her eyes on me as I stare up. I point up towards the stars, not taking my eyes off them. "My parents are up there, watching, waiting, protecting,"

"Mine, too," She whispers. I nod, solemn.

"Yeah. Most are up there now, protecting us the best they can," We stand in silence for a moment. "They love us, you know. Our parents," She nods and wipes her eyes. "Would you like to be in my family?" I ask her. She looks up at me again, shocked.

"But you don't even know my name," She says. I nod and stick my hand out.

"Now's as good a time as ever, am I right?" I ask, shaking my hand slightly. She raises her small hand carefully, and grips mine, as if I'm keeping her tethered to Earth.

"Cassie Stolls," She says quietly.

"Phyre Waters," We shake hands and she smiles a little. "Sisters?" I ask. Her whole face brightens.

"Sisters,"

~Line Break~

I take her back to J, who's whole body is rigid from frustration and worry. He wraps me in his arms immediately. I introduce Cassie to J, but she sticks right to me. I'm basically carrying her, but it doesn't bother me. She's much smaller than the twins, less carefree, harder. More scared. She's shaking in my arms by the time we reach camp. I whistle and the twins immediately run from the cave, almost tackling me and trampling Cassie.

"Ok, guys, calm down," I say while holding them and laughing. They let me go and laugh with me. "Ok. This-" I motion to Cassie. "-is Cassie. She's going to be with us, ok? I want you to treat her like another sister," They hug her as if on instinct. I realize she's almost half their size. She doesn't hug them, but freezes in their arms. That only lasted a few seconds, but she soon relaxed and let them hug her.

"You're so small," Earth says, smiling at her gently. Cassie nods her head.

"Are you hungry, Cassie?" Luca asked, ever the gentleman. She nods. I smile with the twins and we walk toward the food bags. I open them and pull out a small box of chocolate chip cookies. The twins get excited and run to a corner of the cave, which has a small fire in it, dragging Cassie gently behind them. I get out a can of fruit for me and give the bag to Diesel, who punches my arm gently, playfully. I roll my eyes and go sit on the opposite side of the kids. The twins are talking to Cassie and she's smiling gently. She doesn't act like a child. She acts like a woman who's seen too much to live happily. I suppose the twins are, too, but Cassie's alone. At least, she acted like she was. The twins stop talking for a minute as they savor the cookies and I take the opportunity to ask Cassie about herself.

"Where are you from, Cassie?" I ask. She looks up at me sadly and answers, staring at me kindly, though her eyes are full of sadness.

"Forth Worth," I nod.

"We visited there when my dad was in the military. We had to drive through to get where we were actually going so we took a day to hang out there," Cassie nods.

"Do you have any siblings?" She shakes her head.

"I was an only child. My mom was pregnant when the invasion happened. My dad took all three, well, technically four, of us on the run. I was 2 so I don't remember. My mom lost the baby, though, so it was just the three of us again. She was depressed afterwards, blaming herself, but it wasn't her fault," Cassie insists. I nod, moving my hand soothingly up and down her arm. "She threw herself in a river when we stopped to rest. I was 4. I saw her jump and screamed after her. My dad held me back and we cried for a while. We left that night. A few months later, he stabbed himself in the heart. I cried over his body for a while, but decided he wasn't worth it. I took everything I could pick up myself and left his body there. Now, I'm 6 and I've been hiding out in that town for three weeks. No one suspected a thing. I swore I saw people walking around so I took a flashlight and went looking, hoping they were human. I just stood there beside that house, though, waiting to see if something would happen. I probably would have waited all night if you hadn't come, Phyre," She stares at her feet as she eats another cookie. I hug her and she cries against my collar bone. I just hold her tighter, soothing her.

"Sh, Cassie. You'll be safe here with us, ok, honey? It's ok, baby. You're safe now," And by saying these words, I'm willing them to be true, trying to make sure that she's safe, that we're all safe.

~Line Break~

J shakes me awake again. I groan quietly when I see he left everyone else asleep. I Look down to see the twins and Cassie curled up against me, sleeping soundly. I expertly get up without waking any of them and kiss them each on the foread before we leave the cave to get more food.

I have another sister, after all.

~Line Break~

**Earth POV**

I wake up with a start, the light coming in from the mouth of the cave blinding me. I turn away and find a sleeping Luca and Cassie. Luca wakes with me. We've always done this, woken about the same time. Cassie still lays there, sound asleep as we were moments before. I look around and find J and Phyre missing. I assume immediately they already left to get more food for us. They might even get new clothes. I didn't even look for clothes last night. I stand up and nudge Diesel in the arm with my foot as I walk by his sprawled out, sleeping body. He groans and rolls over, still asleep. I hold back laughter as I search through the bags. I find a few shirts and a few pairs of jeans. I even find some shoes. I toss some to Luca and we turn our backs to each other as we change as quick as we can.

I turnaround when Luca announces he's finished changing and see that everything fits him pretty good. He tells me the same and we see Cassie moving around. We crouch down beside her.

"Good morning, Cassie," I say quietly. She wipes the sleep from her eyes and opens them wide. We smile at her and she smiles wide, gripping us tightly in a hug. We hug her back.

"I was scared that I just dreamed you guys up and would wake up in town again," We shake our heads.

"Nope. We're real," I tell her.

"We're too awesome to be made up," Luca jokes. We laugh a little and here rummaging from behind us. We turn to see Diesel holding up cans of stuff.

"What's this stuff?" He asks. We shrug and walk over to him. I take one can and read the label out loud.

"No Pain?" We stare in confusion. I open the top and find a lot of little strips. I search for directions, but can't find any. I pick up a strip and hand it to Diesel.

"What do I do with it?" He asks. I shrug.

"Not sure. There aren't any directions on the bottle, thing," I say. He takes the strip and holds it away from him a little.

"None of these bottles have directions on them. Just a label," Luca says as he rummages through the bags, pulling out dozens of bottles of stuff. I pick up another.

"Heal?" I ask. Luca shrugs.

"How am I supposed to know?" He asks. Cassie picks up two others.

"Inside Clean and Outside Clean," She says. We stare back at each other, all of us confused as to what this stuff is. Cassie gasps.

"I know what it all is! I've seen the souls use it! It's medicine!" Understanding hits us.

"Of course!" I say. "No Pain must be an anesthetic of some sorts," I say. I look at the bottle again and see all the strips. "How do you use it?" Diesel looks at his strip again for a second, and then puts it in his mouth. His face relaxes immediately.

"It stopped the pain in my leg," We look at the bottle in my hands and back at Diesel's calm face. "Here, give me that Inside Clean," Luca hands it to him. He takes the top off and we see it's a spray bottle. "Where do I spray it?" He asks. We all look at Cassie expectantly.

"In front of your face," She takes it from him. "Take a deep breath, ok?" He nods and she sprays and he takes a deep breath. She closes the top. "What happened?" She asks.

"I was pushed out of a tree by Phyre and did something to my leg," Diesel says.

"You did something to the bone?" She asks. He nods. "We have to cut it open where it hurts," He points to his shin and hands her a clean knife. Her hands immediately start shaking, so he takes the knife back.

"I'll cut it, then," He says quietly. He sticks the knife in his leg. "Eew. It feels weird," I gag and look away Cassie's eyes are squeezed shut as she tries to keep her breathing even. Luca pats my back as I gag. I hear something being sprayed and a little laughter. I turn to see his skin stitching up by itself. "Damn, that tickles," He says. I smack his arm lightly.

"Language," I say, just like Phyre does. He rolls his eyes.

"It's not like she doesn't cuss," He says. After a few seconds, his leg looks perfectly fine. "That feels better," He says as he stands without his crutches. We watch as he runs out of the caves and back, jumping in the air and clicking his heels, making us laugh.

~Line Break~

**Phyre POV**

We close the last bag up and head out of town towards the car lot. J hot wires a Ridgeline and we get in, tossing the bags in the huge trunk and back seat.

"We'll drive off towards Charlotte and take the exit before you get there and go towards the first small town that has woods around it," I nod. I usually let him plan. I really don't care where we are. All I care about is surviving and making sure my family's safe. I search through the small purse that I got with CDs in it and decide on the Imagine Dragons one, putting it inside the CD player. The first song is Demons, but I change it to Monster. The whole car rocks loudly with the sound of them singing and me singing along. J smiles as we drive down the highway towards home as I sing brightly and search through all the other CDs, finding an Evanescence mix. I put that in after Monster goes off and find all kinds of songs on it. The first one isSally's Song. The song was from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I remember watching when I was little at school. This version's pretty good, but I just love her voice. I decide to change it to the next one, though, which is Broken with Seether. I never listened to Seether, but I love this song. We listen to it until we get to the cave.

**Diesel POV**

I hear music coming toward us and we put the fire out, wrapping in blankets as we sit in the dark. I listen closer and realize that it's music parasites wouldn't listen to. They don't have good music tastes. The song changes abruptly to A hard rock song that I don't recognize, but I know it's Flyleaf. We listen to it for a minute.

"Cassie pulled the trigger," I hear play. Cassie runs out towards the white Ridgeline and I see Phyre hop out, her arms open.

"I thought if I played a song that someone was bound to think would show it was us, you would run towards us," Cassie holds her tighter and the twins run out towards her, almost tackling her. I walk out, my crutches in a corner of the cave. She gasps, and smiles, walking to me. I hold my arms out, to show a hug's ok. She wraps her arms around me tightly, and I do the same to her. Monster by Imagine Dragons comes on as we stand there.

"Hey, there. I see you got stuff to help fix me up, gingersnap," She holds me tighter and I do the same, my cheek resting on top of her head.

"I'm glad you can walk again. I bet it was torture to have to rely on crutches to get around, and hope we didn't leave you behind, too," I laugh.

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried," She laughs lightly and pulls back to look me in the eyes, hers sparkling brightly in the moonlight, her red hair shining brightly as the light hits it perfectly. She looks like a goddess as her pale skin seems to glow in the light. I get the sudden urge to kiss her, but decide I want it to be private. "You want to go for a walk?" She nods and waves at everyone, motioning to the right to show where we're going. Something loud echoes across the forest as we walk and Phyre laughs. I look at her in confusion.

"This is "The Other Side" by Parachute. It's a good song," Then, I hear singing, but I only catch the chorus.

"So Darling I can't wait for you to wake up

I wanna be there when you open your eyes

Darling don't look back no need to worry

I'll be here waiting on the other side," Phyre smiles at the lyrics and sings a little, which makes the song a hell of a lot better. I have a feeling that the twins or Cassie put it on.

"It's such a good song," Phyre says.

"It better when you sing to it. You're voice makes every song better," She blushes and we keep walking. Another song starts to play, a slower one. "Hey, that's the song you sang to the twins that night," I say. She smiles and nods.

"Gravity by Sara Bareilles," She says, smiling and nodding again.

"Sara who?" She laughs a little.

"You probably don't know who she is, but she writes and sings songs," I nod. After a second, I stick my hand out towards her, palm facing the stars. She smiles.

"May I have this dance?" I ask, memories coming back to me in an instant. She nods.

"Of course," And she puts her other hand on my shoulder as my other hand goes on her waist. We dance around in a small circle, her hair swinging, hitting my arm lightly. It feels soft. I dip her and she smiles up at me. I look at her lips and her eyes close. So, I lean down and kiss her gently.

**Phyre POV**

His lips are soft as honey as they move against mine, gently massaging mine. My hands move to his hair as he pulls me back up on my feet and lightly leans my body against a tree. His hands move up and down my waist as we kiss. The song changes to Great Love by Flyleaf, which makes my smile. He smiles against my lips as we keep kissing. I feel my face getting red from this and hope, with the last part of my body that doesn't have a mind of its own, that no one's watching. We break apart and gasp for air, his forehead against mine, my eyes still closed. One of his hands caresses my cheek and we kiss again, a little harder this time, my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. At the moment, that's all I want, him to be closer.

We kiss for a few more seconds before breaking apart again. The song changes again to She is Love by Parachute. We laugh slightly and his arms stay around my waist as we sway to the music, my arms still around his neck. I slide them down until only my hands are cradling his neck, my arms resting against his hard, muscular chest. I stare into his grey eyes, twinkling in the moonlight, which makes them seem an even lighter grey. He kisses me lightly again as we let each other go and walk back towards the cave.

**J POV**

I stealthily make my way to the caves, trying to get as far from Diesel and Phyre as possible. As I walk by it, I punch a tree, making a small dent in it. I cradle my hand to my chest as it throbs and starts to bleed badly. I curse under my breath and start to walk faster towards the caves. I can't believe she kissed him! They barely know each other! I've known her almost her entire life and she's never once hinted about wanting to kiss me! All I've wanted to do for so long is to kiss her and he's known her, what, a day, two days, maybe three. He had no right to kiss her. But the worst part, she kissed him back! Pulled him closer to her! Let his hand roam her body! I'm disgusted that he put his filthy paws on her body.

I get inside the cave, swear the kids to secrecy, and heal my hand how Cassie showed me. I sit down beside Luca, trying to get my heart rate down, trying to seem relaxed, but know I'm failing as the kids watch me.

"Do I seem like myself yet?" I ask, my heart rate still pretty high. Cassie nods, along with the twins.

"Yeah. I don't think they'll know you were spying on them," Earth says. I glare at her and she blushes. "Well, you were, weren't you?" I sigh and nod. Cassie and Earth laugh and Luca pats my arm, trying to hold his back. Phyre and Diesel walk in while the girls are still laughing.

"What's so funny?" Phyre asks in her angelic voice. Earth shakes her head.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," Phyre stares at her a minute, but shrugs and walks towards us, her hand in Diesels. I start to get angry, but she sits right beside me, so I soon forget about my anger. Her empty hand rests on top of mine and we sit around the fire in a circle, talking and laughing, listening to Phyre sing to the music still playing in the Ridgeline.

**So, this chapter was pretty long. I hope you liked it. Tell me whether you like Diesel or J more. You know hint, hint. I might take your votes into consideration for later chapters. HINT! HINT! Reviews are welcome. =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4! Yep, it's true. I've hooked myself. I would really like reviews, but since I love this so much, I think that I really couldn't care less as to whether or not I get them. I wouldn't mind getting them, though.**

**Phyre POV**

My head's resting on J's stomach while my hands run through Diesel's hair. His head is resting on my stomach while I do this. I'm thinking through our scene in the woods, trying to decide how I want to start the conversation. I need him to know that we won't do anything else until we officially become a couple. I just need to know how to tell him. I want to be blunt with him, but I don't know him like the back of my hand like I do J.

I think J's asleep so now would be the best time to bring up the conversation. The kids already fell asleep after dinner and singing, so I don't have to worry about them overhearing. I take a deep breath and Diesel sits up to look me in the eyes.

"What's wrong, Phyre?" I sigh again. I think he knows to an extent what I want to talk to him about, but I need to know how to tell him.

"Well, it's about our…..relationship," His face gets serious. "Before you can kiss me again, we should be an official couple first. I don't want Earth or Cassie or Luca to find someone and do things that couples do without officially being a couple. We need to set an example for them by showing them what the right thing to do is," He smiles. I think I made the right choice by being blunt. Adding the kids probably helped out a ton.

"If that all you're worried about, then we'll make it official. But only if that's what you want," He adds, his face full of hope. I smile and sit up, kissing him lovingly.

"Of course that's what I want," I whisper against his lips. His arms wound tightly around me as he pulls me closer to him, leaning back so that I'm on top of him. His hands go up and down my back, going to my sides, skimming my hips with his fingertips, making me sigh quietly and my skin prickle. He flips so he's on top and my hand roam his chest, moving to his shoulders, going down his arms, back up to his neck, running through his hair. We flip back and forth for a few minutes, not going any farther considering there are four people besides us in the cave. Afterwards, we lay beside each other, my head resting on his shoulder. He looks down at me as I gaze up at him, a small smile on my face. Our legs entangle as we lay there, intertwined like a string with a knot, difficult to take apart, so it's best to leave it along. That's how we are now, I guess. Nothing will be able to tear us apart.

~Line Break~

**Diesel POV**

I wake up early-ish. It's still dark outside so to me, it's pretty early. I look down to see Phyre's head still on my shoulder. I don't remember who fell asleep first, me or her, but in my memory, we're still laying here, staring into each other's eyes. I stare at her sleeping form and take the opportunity to memorize her face. If she was awake, I could memorize her beautiful, emerald green eyes as they bore into my grey ones. I lay still, watching her as her chest rises and falls in a steady pattern. After watching her motionless and silently for a few minutes, her eyelids flutter open, revealing the green that floods my heart with happiness. She smiles sleepily at me and I kiss her gently. She kisses back instantly and one of my hands goes to her neck, up in her hair. Her hands roam my arms, which is all she can reach. I release her soon, though. I miss her green eyes boring into mine. She looks at me, seeming to be hurt.

"Sorry. I missed our green eyes, though," She smiles and gently kisses me again, but breaks away after a few seconds.

"They're not that pretty. Yours, on the other hand, are exquisite," I scoff at her comment.

"Oh, please. Don't tell me that. I don't want lies," Her eyes widen.

"I'm not lying. They're truly beautiful," I lean closer.

"You're more beautiful than my eyes can ever hope to be," I kiss her gently and break away when I hear someone move. We both sit up and see Cassie rolling over in her sleep. Phyre smiles at the girl and I smile, too. Cassie's growing on me. She helped my heal my leg so I could dance with Phyre, so I could kiss her, hold her. In a way, Cassie brought us together. Phyre's eyes glide lovingly over Earth and Luca and end up on J, who's sleeping pretty deeply. I see Phyre's eyes brighten with an idea and she turns to me.

"We need to teach you how to raid," I smile, seeing through her thoughts.

~Line Break~

**Phyre POV**

"No," J says immediately, running back and forth from the cave to the Ridgeline.

"Why not?" I ask as I follow him. "He can walk now. He's very good at stealth. He's good at taking things without being seen. I don't see the problem," J picks up another bag and tosses it over his shoulder. I pick one up and start to follow him again.

"He's not proven yet," He says. I throw the bag into the trunk.

"Proven?!" I virtually yell. "He's a human, J! Why would he turn us in?! That would be suicide for him, too. He's just as human as you and me!" He stares at me in disbelief. "If you don't want him going, then you can do it yourself. He needs to learn how to. What if something happens to one of us? I don't want the kids going on raids. He needs to learn," J stares at me, hurt written all over his face. He sighs in defeat. I kiss his cheek. "Thank you," I whisper against his cheek. I walk towards Diesel, who's playing with the kids. I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his waist. His arms drape around me like a curtain.

"Will you sing for us, Phyre?" Earth asks. I smile and nod at her.

"What do you want me to sing?"

"Would you and Diesel both sing Broken by Seether and Amy Lee?" Diesel nods.

"Sure, love,"

"I wanted you to know that I love the way you laugh

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away

I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain," Diesel sings in a beautiful voice that echoes through my heart.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right when you're gone away," We sing together, our voices harmonizing perfectly.

"You've gone away, you don't feel me here anymore," He sings brightly.

"The worst is over now and we can breathe again

I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away

There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain," I sing lightly, feeling the lyrics piercing the air.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm open

And I don't feel like I am strong enough

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right when you're gone away," We repeat that and sing the next lines together, harmonizing in perfect coordination.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right when you're gone away,"

"You've gone away

You don't feel me here anymore," He sings. We stand there, still holding each other, gasping for breath after that long spill. We stare at each other. The kids clap and I'm pretty sure J went inside the car so he wouldn't hear us singing. Diesel and I bow and we all get inside the Ridgeline. I turn Monster by Imagine Dragons back on because hearing it again reminded me of how much I liked it. I sat in the front seat with J. I would have sat beside Diesel, but that would have meant one of the kids sitting in the front. I sing along to the lyrics and everyone smiles as my voice echoes with the band's voice.

~Line Break~

**5 Hours Later**

We drive off the road and into the first forest we see and drive for a few more minutes until we reach a more clustered spot.

"This forest seems kind of….open," I say. J hits the steering wheel with the palms of his hands.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" He asks. I can tell he's aggravated for some reason, but that immediately makes me angry. He has no righ to get mad at me.

"Turn around and get back on the highway. We need a forest that we can hide a huge, white Ridgeline in. This forest won't work,"

"You're taking the goddamn thing on the raid!" He yells.

"I know! But at night, the truck will be here and you can easily see It through the small amount of trees!" He groans.

"God, can't you just stop it and deal with it!" He says. I shake my hed, crossing my arms.

"No. I want to keep my family safe. And this forest will not work, J! Don't you want to keep everyone safe?" Everyone goes silent.

"Almost everyone…." I stare at him with so much fury, his face could have burned off.

"Oh my GOD! How could you say something like that! Diesel is a part of our group, J! You stupid son of a bitch! I can't believe you! DO YOU KNOW THAT?!" I scream."I HATE YOU, JACKSON HUNT!" I open the car door and slam it shut, running off towards the thick cluster of trees, angry tears streaming down my face.

"PHYRE!" I hear Diesel yell after me. I shake my head as I run faster, looking for a nice place to stop. I hear a few car doors slam and go faster, realizing they're all running after me. I trip over a tree root and fall, rolling down a hill and hitting a tree. I can almost hear my ribs crack and I scream in pain. "PHYRE! I'M COMING, PHYRE!" Diesel yells and I hear his footsteps coming towards me. I feel a stream of blood start to bead and flow down the side of my back as my eyes start to close just as Diesel comes into view. "Phyre!" He says as he runs down the hill towards me, picking up my limp form. "Don't worry, Phyre, we'll get you fixed up soon. I'll make the pain stop," I nod slightly, trying not to move too much, trying to avoid as much pain as possible. I close my eyes, the darkness more welcome than this hell.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the 5****th**** chapter, people. I hope you had a Merry Christmas! Also, I still only have 2 reviews, even though people have clicked on this story, but no one's reviewed! I would really apprieciate them and it really isn't that difficult to do, people! Ok. Sorry for ranting there. I hope you enjoy this chapter! And drop me a review if you liked it. =)**

**Diesel POV**

"Earth, Cassie, Luca! Quick! Phyre needs a first aid kit!" I look down to see her eyes closed. All I want to see is that green, bright with life. I hear running footsteps and hope that Phyre will be ok. I tell them what happened to Phyre and I squeeze her hand, making her smile lightly through her pain.

"Tell me where it hurts, Phyre, so I know where to heal you," Cassie says as her small but steady hands move across Phyre's ribs. Phyre gasps in pain, tears pouring down her face. Cassie tries to calm her as she puts some No Pain on her tongue. Phyre relaxes, basically going limp in my arms, a small smile on her lips.

"Phyre, can you open your eyes for me?" I ask gently. She opens them wide and smiles a little brighter.

"Hey Diesel. Did they heal me yet?" I shake my head in disbelief.

"No. They're healing you right now,"

"Why aren't you watching them do it?"

"I don't like to watch. Even though I _did _watch when Cassie healed my leg. But I felt I probably should then," Earth sticks her head in Phyre's view.

"Cassie's almost done. You'll be as good as new in a few seconds," She laughs a little.

"Sure. Where's J?" She asks, worry clouding her happiness.

"I'm sure he's hunting around the woods for us. I'm sure he's worried about where you've went," She smiles and asks Cassie if she can sit up and watch them heal her. It was pretty gross, but Phyre said it was so awesome. The truth is I have no clue as to where J is. He's probably stormed off to pout like the baby he is. He can't handle things very well. I'm shocked he's made it this long without doing something majorly stupid. I smile at Phyre, her eyes sparkling with child-like excitement.

"Looking good, gingersnap," She grins and rolls her eyes. I help her up, but she seems perfectly fine. Well, she can at least move without having to endure pain now.

**Phyre POV**

"Let's go find J. I need to apologize," I say, taking Diesel's hand and pulling him behind me as we almost run through the woods. "J!" I yell, listening to the echo hit every tree, bouncing off of everything, making its way towards J. We keep walking around and soon find the Ridgeline, J sitting there, his head resting on the steering wheel. I smile and walk over to his door, open it quietly, and poke his shoulder. He lifts his head and looks at me. I smile at him a little and he puts his head back down. I stand up n the step and push his head up, resting it back against the headrest.

I show Diesel one finger and he nods, silently walking away towards the kids. I smile after him for a minute and climb inside the car, closing the door behind me. I put my legs over the arm rest and lean my back against the door. J has one arm covering his eyes and I roll my eyes.

"Stop moping, ok?" I say gently. I take the arm that's covering his eyes and shake it, making him smile. "I don't hate you. I said that in the heat of the moment. I was furious, but I've calmed down now and decided that what I said wasn't true at all. I'm sorry, J," He drops his arm from his face and it falls around me. His other arm weeds its way around me, both working together to pull me into his awkward embrace. I can feel the love in it, though, no matter how strange it may look. He kisses the top of my head and I start to expect something. I bury the thought. I'll wonder about it later.

"I probably should have been a little more thoughtful. I should have thought through everything before I chose a place for us to stay the night. I'm sorry, too, Phyre," I smile and kiss his cheek, the light stubble gently scratching my lips. I pull back, but he pulls my face closer to his again. I then feel his lips on mine. I freeze. I don't want to kiss J. I didn't really want to kiss Diesel, but fire set my body aflame when Diesel touched me, the desire rose in my body. But kissing J was much different. His lips were warm, comfortable, but different. There was no fire blazing my body as his arms positioned me so I was straddling him. I felt nothing light me. No desire gave my body its own mind like it did when Diesel touched me, held me, kissed me. I put my hands on J's chest, letting him kiss me. I kissed back for politeness, though I felt nothing. I just made up with him. Why should I push him away so soon?

His hands went up and down my back, caressing my waist, going up into my hair. His lips left mine and went to my neck, kissing lovingly. I held tears back. I didn't like him kissing me. I loved it when Diesel did. Diesel made me feel alive. Our flame was inevitable. This was nothing. Nothing fueled me to keep going. I lightly pushed his chest with my hands.

"J," His arms tightened, holding me more securely. "J, please. Please stop, J," He froze, his arms still tight around my waist. Tears started to fall slightly down my face. "I'm sorry, J. I really am. But I just….I-" A finger went over my lips, tracing them.

"It's ok, Phyre. I shouldn't have done that," I shake my head.

"It's fine, J. But I just….I can't," J nods.

"I understand, Phyre. I shouldn't have done that," The hurt is so clearly written across his face, in his eyes. I lightly kiss him before I open the door and get out. He motions for me to go, smiling a little. I can tell it's forced, though.

"I really am sorry, J," I say as I walk away, trying to fight the urge to run away as fast as I can.

**Diesel POV**

I walk around in circles, trying to think of something to do to get out of my bored and jealous state of mind. They're alone together, in a car. Anything can go on in a fucking car. God, I've got to get my head out of my ass. Phyre's a great person. We're technically together so if he tries anything funny with her, she has a legitament excuse. I smile. She can reject him all day, every day. I almost wish I was there to watch her tell him she doesn't want him. I hear footsteps behind me I turn to see Phyre, tears streaming down her beautiful face. She's paler than normal. I go to her, wrapping her in my arms. She starts to sob quietly in my arms. I let her release her emotions as I hold her in the middle of a very spread out forest. After a few minutes of crying, Phyre calms down and I pull her to the ground. She sits in my lap and we sit in silence, her head resting on my shoulder as we sit there, staring at nothing.

"J kissed me," She says at once. I don't move. I try to keep my emotions in check, my muscles relaxed as she tells me what happened.

"That damn bastard. You didn't want him to kiss you," She nods, putting her hands on my chest to keep me down.

"I know," She replies.

"God, you shouldn't have let him kiss you, tough you that way. You should have beat the living shit out of him," She laughs, but she quickly silences it.

"Can we just forget about it, Diesel?" I think about it and decide to talk to him later about it. I nod and she sighs, relaxing into my body. We lay down on the grass her head still on my shoulder. I move one through her hair and the other up and down her arm, relaxing us both.

**J POV**

I jump out of the car, closing the door quietly. I run through the woods, getting my anger out as I run. Didn't she feel what I felt? I felt happiness, love, passion. I can't believe what happened. Even though she didn't say it, I know she only wanted to stop because of Diesel. Diesel. Even in my mind I growl his name. I wish she wasn't so caring. We should have left him to die out there. Then, we probably would have been a happy couple, the couple everyone always thought should be, would always be. Diesel's ruined that perfect image everyone always thought would be. They all thought we would be together forever. First, of course, I had to get the courage to ask her out. But after I had gotten that courage, as everyone expected I would get soon, we would be together and never part. Diesel has destroyed that. He took what might have been and twisted it into his favor, making it for himself. He doesn't deserve someone like Phyre. Her light shines brighter than the stars on a moonless light. A random surge of anger flows through me and I stop running and punch a tree as hard as I can. The pain makes my head clear, but it hurts like hell. I say profanities until I eventually find the kids, swearing them to secrecy yet again, and make Cassie fix my hand.

"Stop being such an angry idiot, J. Mature up," Cassie says agitatedly. Everyone looks at her like she's crazy and she shrugs. "Well, he needs to act like the man he physically is," Earth and Luca start laughing so hard they fall backwards. Once they calm down, Earth answers her questioning look.

"That's impossible. He'll never mature. He's J," Everyone nods and I roll my eyes.

"I'm mature," They hold back laughter.

"Sure," Cassie says. I smile lightly and roll my eyes again.

**Phyre POV**

"Hey, honey. It's starting to get dark out. Are we going to raid?" Diesel asks. I wipe the sleep from my eyes and push myself up with my arms, which are on his chest. I let my head fall on top of my arms and stare at him.

"I guess so. Do you think everyone will be ok?" I ask, worried, even on the edge of sleep. He smiles.

"Of course. I better drive there, though," He laughs as I smile sleepily. I feel his laughter shake his chest, vibrating my body. I smile and roll off of him. He stands up and helps me up. When it becomes evident that I'm too lazy to wake my body up fully just yet, he picks me up and carries me towards the others. I wake my body up somewhat better, I let him put me down and we walked the rest of the way to the others.

"Hey, guys. We're going to go on the raid now," I say, kissing all the kids on top of their heads. I kiss J's cheek as if nothing happened. I wave with Diesel as they yell at us to be careful and hurry back. Diesel gets in the driver's seat while I get in the seat beside him. "Now remember-" I say as he starts to carefully drive out of the woods. "-to always go the speed limit or less. Souls always follow every rule and with us driving in plain sight, we'll need to be as careful as possible. That means no speeding, no matter how tempting it is," I smile as we get on the highway and start driving down the road. He grips the steering wheel tightly as he drives. I put a hand over the one closest to me. "Relax, Diesel," After a few minutes, he starts to relax and stays under the speed limit. There were very few cars on the road, all in front of us.

We drive carefully until we get to the next town, which I don't bother to see the name of. We park in a parking lot for a store, in the back so no one can see it. We stealthily make our way to the back door, opening it silently. We make our way inside and I show him what to do. After we raid the store, I asked if he's raided houses before. He said he had so we take some extra garbage bags with us as we break into the house beside the store and get half of their food. We start walking out the door when we hear a noise behind us.

We turn silently and in unison to see a figure staring at us from the shadows.


	6. Chapter 6

**So, there was a freaky figure in the shadows from the last chapter. I wasn't expecting that to happen, even though I wrote it. That's what happens, though. I never know what I'll write until I get there. That's what's so fun about writing, though. The inevitable happening when you least expect it. Here's chapter 6!**

**Diesel POV**

I lightly push Phyre behind me, trying to hide her as best I can. I tilt my head towards her, my eyes never leaving the figure.

"Run to the Ridgeline, Phyre. Take everyone and run. Go where I haven't been with you guys," I whisper quietly, my voice barely audible to her. My heart starts to constrict as I face the figure fully, keeping Phyre behind me. I refuse to let her be captured and erased. Her light is too bright to be destroyed. The figure flips the light switch and I cringe. I feel Phyre cringe behind me at the same time.

"Don't panic," The figure says. I'm blinded by the sudden bright light and I try to wait for my eyes to adjust. The voice sounded female, but it could be anything at this point. "I have a phone in my pocket. Any sudden movements and the Seekers will be on their way," My eyes start to get used to the light and widen to normal size. I can see that it is in a female body, just as I had expected. She seems to be tall, even sitting in a chair. She was a light tan with a narrow face. Her hair was short, spunky, side bangs covering some of her left eye. Her hair was blonde, but there were some black highlights in it. The hair cut shaped her face nicely, showing her long neck off. Her lips were light pink and full. I look back to her eyes. They were a dark blue, ocean blue. There was a silver ring in her eyes, though, showing a different consciousness was inside than the original.

"Don't you know how late it is, young lady?" I say, a cocky grin taking over. "You should probably go back to your princess bed and try to wake yourself up from your strange dream," She scoffs at my comment.

"Oh please. I think that I can tell whether I'm in a dream or not," She says proudly.

"Dreams can seem so real, but the second you open your eyes, you remember the dream. Dreams can become reality if you try hard enough," I walk closer, Phyre latched onto my back, gripping my shirt in a death grip. I smile at the parasite/woman. Her eyes narrow as I get closer.

"I'm afraid, though, that you're going to have to either die or come with us," I have no idea what I'm saying, giving it/her a choice. It's strange, but she seems so familiar. She tilts her head to the side slightly.

"Why should I believe that I won't die either way?" I laugh quietly.

"Everyone dies," She shakes her head.

"Souls can live forever if we have suitable host bodies," My eyes about pop out of my head and I start to get curious. Phyre lets my shirt go and starts to stand beside me. I hold my arm in front of her, preventing her from getting too close to the….living creature in front of us. The situation sort of reminds me of the book "It" by Stephan King. Except this It wasn't a freaky clown named Pennywise. This It seemed to be a person, but wasn't.

"Grace, no," I have no clue where Grace came from, but I thought that pseudonyms would be good. She doesn't answer, just stares at the girl/soul thing. Phyre shakes her head.

"It's coming with us, Jake," I assume she's caught on to my caution. Silence echoes through the room. I eventually sigh.

"Ok, then, Grace. It'll come with us," I grab its arm and yank it up from its seat. It gasps as I feel its pockets for the phone it claimed to have. I find it in her right butt pocket. I pull it out and throw it as hard as I can into the wall. Phyre picks it up as I hold the parasite's arms behind its back. Phyre picks up the phone and takes the battery out and tosses the battery on the floor, stomping on it. I laugh as I watch her try to break it. She eventually does and walks slowly over to me, obviously tired.

"Let's go before I have to do something else like that," I laugh again as we walk out the door.

"Hey, what would be the easiest way to continue raiding with it with us?" Phyre stops and looks at it. After a second, she hits it on both sides of its neck. The parasite goes limp in my arms.

"Put it over your shoulder and we'll tie it up when we get back to the car," I nod, throwing it over my shoulder. "Nice thinking with the pseudonyms back there," I smile at her and she does the same, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. I take her hand as we walk back to the Ridgeline. I toss the parasite in the back seat and she gets in beside it, tying its hands and feet together with rope I didn't know she had in the seat.

"Where to?" She climbs in the passenger seat beside me.

"Let's go to another house and then we can go back to camp," She says.

"Eye, eye, Cap'n," She laughs lightly and she puts a CD in. "Let Her Go starts blasting throughout the car. We go quickly over bumps, which made her laugh. By the time we found another house, I had completely forgotten about the parasite in the back seat. Phyre gasps and starts digging through the glove compartment. She pulls a roll of duck tape and rips a piece off, leans back, and covers the parasite's mouth with it. I laugh and it's decided that I'll stay in the car, even though I'd rather be in there with her.

So, I wait for her, listening to "Let Her Go" on repeat, hoping I don't have to let her go.

**Phyre POV**

I stealthily get inside the house and get as much food as I can fit into 3 garbage bags. I sneak back out and run to the car, which is parked across the street and quickly through my bags in the trunk with the others and hop in the door beside Diesel. He starts driving down the road and "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry comes on. I start singing loudly to it, sort of dancing in a very strange way. Diesel even does the rap part, which makes me laugh so hard. Once I calm down, I start singing the end of it.

"Was I that terrible?" He asks which makes me start to laugh again.

"No. If you count not knowing the lyrics and stumbling over every word good, then you did awesome," I laugh harder and he rolls his eyes.

"Well, you really were awesome, Phyre. You're voice is so beautiful," I blush and take his hand, squeezing lightly. We smile contently and turn off the road and drive into camp.

~Line Break~

I go back to the truck with Diesel to get Miss Parasite. I open the door and he tosses it over his shoulder. We start joking around and he almost drops it, which makes me laugh harder. His face is almost as red as my hair. We calm down immediately when it starts moving around and groaning. We start jogging into camp, trying to get there before it wakes up fully.

~Line Break~

"You _what_?" J asks, clearly aggravated.

"Let me say this slowly so your smaller, minor brain can understand. We. Took. A. Parasite," Diesel says. I grin in spite of myself, but lightly smack his arm.

"What do we do with it?" I ask.

"I don't _know_," J says, running his hands through his hair. "We never took parasites for a fucking _reason_!" I smack his arm, too.

"Language," I say. They ignore me, but Diesel gives me a tight smile.

"Well, we can't take it back now. That's 20 minutes away and the sun will rise in about 15 minutes. We have to follow the speed limit now," J smacks his hand on a tree.

"Damn it," He says. Everyone's silent as J thinks. The sun slowly starts to rise when J looks up at us. "We'll just have to take it with us as far away as we can get, then," Everyone immediately gets something and rushes to the Ridgeline, throwing everything in the trunk. After about 5 minutes, everything is in the trunk.

"What about the parasite?" I ask as Diesel tosses it over his shoulder again. J stares at it for a minute.

"Put it in the floor of the back seat," He finally decides. We follow him toward s the car. "Let the kids keep their feet on it. Since it's tied up, it won't hurt them," I nod and we open one of the doors, which is the sie Earth was on. I smile grimly.

"We're putting it at your feet, ok? It won't hurt you," They nod, but I see the fear in their eyes. "You guy will be ok. You'll be fine," They nod and raise their legs. Diesel puts the parasite down and they put their feet around it. It's still sleeping from earlier. It starts to move slightly and its eyes open. Earth screams and starts to cry. I unbuckle her and hold her, rocking back and forth. It stares at us in fear. Luca grips Cassie and they start to cry, too. I pull them all to me and I scoot to the middle. Diesel closes the door behind us and both him and J get in the front.

Diesel puts Lorde's album, Pure Heroine, on and changes the song to Buzzcut Season. The kids start to calm down as I hold them, singing quietly to the song. The parasite looks at us, confusion written across its face. The song changes to Hero by Enrique Iglasias.

"This is a beautiful song," I say directed to the parasite. It nods after a second. "What's your name?" I say. I mumbles something, but it was muffled from the duck tape I just realized that I hadn't taken off yet. "Oh, sorry," I say as I gently and slowly take it off.

"Thanks," It says quietly.

"Of course. I'm not a complete heathen. So, your name?" I ask. It sits in silence for a second, but then decides to answer.

"Prances Through the Star-filled Night," I whistle.

"That is quite the name. It sure is a mouthful, don't you think?" It stares at me, silent. "Let's get you a nickname. How about…..Star?"

"Oh, that's cool," Earth says. Cassie and Luca agree with her.

"Do you like it?" I ask it. It nods. I smile and stick my hand out towards….her. "Nice to meet you, Star," She takes my hand and we shake. "This is my sister, Earth, and her twin brother, Luca. And this is my honorary sister, Cassie. Up front driving is my best friend, J, and my boyfriend, Diesel, who you've met. He's the one who was in your house with me," I say. She makes an 'o' shape with her mouth and nods. "Here, let's help you up," I reach my hand down towards her.

And, to my surprise, she takes it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's been a little while since my last update. My brother's on a travel basketball team that plays every freaking weekend and I'm forced to go to every freaking game. It's affecting my writing and I hate it. Again, so sorry it's been a while. I'll try to be better, though.**

**Phyre POV**

I smile as I start pulling her up off the ground gently so as not to hurt her. Earth crawls over me and sits between Cassie and Luca, who are on the other side of me. I sit Star beside the door and I take out my knife slowly.

"Ok, Star. I'm going to cut the rope from you. But be warned right now. If you try _anything _I will not hesitate to slice your throat. Got it?" I see the fear in her eyes as she nods solemly. I smile at her gently. "Good. Sorry to have to scare you there. But I had to give you a warning," I cut her feet free and start trying to release her hands. I eventually cut through it and give her a small smile. She gives me one back. "I can't remember if I introduced myself so I'm Phyre," She smiles back at me and we sit silently in the car as J drives. His knuckles are white from holding the steering wheel so tightly.

I sigh and sit back, trying to relax and watch Star out of the corner of my eye.

~Line Break~

**15 Minutes Later**

I blink and put my sunglasses on as the sun starts getting brighter. I make sure Earth, Luca, and Cassie have theirs on and look over at Star who's sitting quietly, her hands in her lap as she stares out the window. I can tell that J's still pissed at me but he's been an ass lately so he'll just have to deal with it. When I saw the fear in her eyes…..I just couldn't stand it. She looked so pitiful, so helpless. It reminded me of the twins when we first went on the run. The fear in her eyes brought that all back, the constant running, the fear, the hunger. But we created a system after a few months. And everything got better. And then we found Diesel.

I smiled and took the CD bag from Diesel's lap, planting a kiss on his cheek as I sit back down. I flip through and look over at Star, who's still staring out the window.

"Hey, Star?" She jumps slightly and turns to face me. "Would you like to choose something?" I motion towards the CD bag. She stares at me, looking back and forth between me and the bag. Finally, she nods and we flip through together. She eventually chooses a Def Leppard CD, on my recommendation, of course.

Pour Some Sugar on Me starts blasting through the car and everyone but Star and J are singing to the lyrics at the top of their lungs. I smile brightly as we harmonize.

**6 Hours Later**

"Seriously, J. Pull over. We need to eat something before we keep driving," Diesel complains again.

"If we keep driving, we'll be able to make it just outside of New York State," I roll my eyes.

"J," I say, my voice hard with aggravation. "We're hungry now. We need to pull over and drive in the woods on our right and eat something," The car is silent as we stay the same speed. I glare at his back and after a few minutes, he starts to slow down and turns right, driving into the forest.

~Line Break~

We stop in a clearing and I help the kids down, holding Star by the arm gently, reminding her that she shouldn't run. Once the kids get food, I give some to Star and take some for myself. We're sitting on the ground in a circle, silently eating.

"The more people you take in, Phyre, the less food we'll have," J says bitterly after a few minutes.

"Well, she can't help having a heart, J. I was just going to kill the….Star, but she brought her with us! She saved a life! She saved another life when she brought us Cassie. I'd still be on crutches had she not been here to heal my leg!" Diesel says to my defense, his body tense with anger and frustration. I put my palm on his arm, but he doesn't relax. J scoffs.

"Oh, letting it live a while and killing it later is having a heart?"

"She's not going to die!" I yell. My voice echoes throughout the forest and everyone looks at me, eyes wide. "She's not going to die. I'm not going to let you. I saved her for a reason,"

"Well it better be a damn good reason because we'll have to hide much more frequently and not raid as much until they realize they won't find it!" J's voice gets louder the more he talks.

"Finds _her_. And they won't find her because she's supposed to stay with us!" Silence echoes loudly through the woods. "I feel it. I know that she's supposed to be here. I just know it," Star stares at me, her eyes wide and filed with fear. Fear of the inevitable. But I won't let her die. I refuse to back down and let harm go to her. She's not something to be taken lightly.

She's revolutionary.

**Earth POV**

I can feel the tension in the air. It's so thick you could cut it with a knife. There's some serious problems between Phyre and J. I wonder what caused that. They never had a fight, not once, when the souls didn't inhabit the earth. I wonder…..

Phyre and J glare at each other, their anger clashing loudly, like a clap of thunder. I feel Cassie start to tremble and I hold her tightly. I know if Phyre saw her, her anger would have drained out of her immediately and she would be holding her, reassuring her that everything will be ok. I don't say anything as I hold her.

"Phyre, it's supposed to be in a city, surrounded by its kind. NOT with a human rebel group,"

"Well, too bad. SHE is here now and not leaving anytime soon!" Phyre shouts. Phye and J stand up and scream in each other's face their opinions.

**Phyre POV**

"If you weren't such an immature baby, we wouldn't be having this argument!"

"I'M IMMATURE?!" J screams in her face.

"Well, obviously! Why else would you still-" She breaks off, realizing what she was about to proclaim.

"I'm what!" He shouts. I can tell that he knows exactly where I was going, but I shake my head. "Go ahead! You were going to say it anyways!" I shake her head again.

"No," I says, staring in his eyes. He grips her arm.

"Say it," His face is inches from mine, his eyes cold.

"You're still a virgin. Happy dickhead?" I whisper it, but it seems to echo. I pray Diesel won't laugh. J lets my arm go. I blink and something hard hits my cheek. I hear a scream and flesh hitting flesh. The ground gets closer as I fall. I react too late and fall, hitting my face on a sharp rock. I gasp. The pain is awful, but not as bad as breaking some ribs. My face throbs as I lay there. I feel hands grab me and start pulling me away from the ground. They gasp.

"Oh, Phyre," Cassie says. A few more hands start pulling me along with the first. I keep my eyes closed. I wouldn't like to see the scene play out anyways. It's better my eyes are closed. I feel myself being lifted and faintly wonder if I'm dying. And then there's no thought.

**Diesel POV**

I lift Phyre up, my hands under her back. I hold her to my chest. _Live _I pray. _Please live. Please. _Cassie opens the right side door on the Ridgeline and I lay her down on her back. After J punched her, I lunched, beating the holy shit out of his body. Virgin or not, he had no reason to hurt her. I look back and see Star standing a few feet away, her eyes closed as she shakes. I walk over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She jumps, but relaxes slightly when she sees it's me. I smile grimly.

"I think she'll be fine. You want to see her?" She watches me, but nods. We walk over to the car and watch as Cassie fixes her up. Star's eyes are wide with concern. Cassie sees and smiles gently.

"She's ok. She just passed out," She reassures Star. Her eyes flash to me. She nods slightly and turns back to Phyre. "She's lucky that we have the soul medicine. If we didn't, she'd probably be dead from her accident with that tree," I smile and nod.

"She's the clumsy one in our family," The kids laugh. Cassie's face lights up like a Christmas tree, though, at the mention of us being a family.

"Is Star in our family now?" Luca asks. I nod.

"She's with us, isn't she?" Star smiles gently, but I can tell that she's happy with the comment. We all sit in the car and talk, waiting for Phyre to wake up. She wakes up 15 minutes later, groaning.

"Ok, what happened," She asks, but it comes out more of an angry statement.

"Well, J punched you so I attacked him and beat the holy shit out of is fat ass," The kids hold back their laughter when they see how pissed Phyre is.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but he forced me to, being the shitface he's been lately. He had no right to force me to say it and then hit me for it," I nod.

"Well, for that reason and another reason I attacked him,"

"What's the other reason?"

"I think it's a possibility that I've currently fallen in love with you. I don't plan on letting go just yet. It's pretty fun in this state of mind," Phyre blushes so hard. But I do, too. I caress her cheek and soon find my lips moving against hers.

I feel like the luckiest man alive.

~Line Break~

**3 Days Later**

"We need another raid soon," I say to J as he walks around aimlessly. Phyre's off with Star and the kids a little ways away. She not talked to him since he hit her. She refused to acknowledge his presence on the planet since then. And at night, she'll whisper rant about how awful he is and that no wonder he's still a virgin. J shakes his head.

"We'll be fine, Diesel,"

"No we won't. There's a lot of us to feed now. We should go soon," J sighs, aggravation getting to him. I couldn't care less as to whether he likes me or not. Getting a best friend isn't my priority. Keeping everyone safe, even if it means keeping J safe, is my main priority.

"Well, you'll need the truck. And there's not any caves here for us to sleep in,"

"Well, you should have thought of that before we stopped here for a few days," J puts his hand on a tree and turns around to look at me. I stare right back at him, showing that I, too, can be just as much of a stubborn jackass as he can. He glares at me and shakes his head.

"We'll leave tonight," He turns away from me and looks up at the sky. I feel a rain drop hit the top of my head and my eyes widen.

"Well, I think we shoud leave right now,"

"It's just rain, Diesel. What, you're scared of RAIN?" J laughs, looking back at me. He probably was a pretty cool guy before the invasion. I always thought he looked like someone who liked to smile and laugh. Maybe that's why he and Phyre used to get along really well.

"No, but I used to live a few miles away from here. Once it starts raining, you get floods. It won't stop raining for weeks. One time it rained almost a whole month. We need to get out of here," J looks at me, his smile gone from his face. He smacks the tree and starts jogging towards the others. I jog after him.

"Phyre, get the kids in the car. Diesel and I will make sure we've got everything we need," She nods, looking slightly worried, and pats the kids' backs, pushing them gently towards the Ridgeline. I start running, knowing we'll need a faster speed if we'll have any chance of getting out of here before it starts flooding.

I get to the little place that Phyre and I've been sleeping and grab our stuff, which we already had packed in case we had to leave quickly.

I just hope we make it in time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! So, this is not my favorite story, but I'm planning on making it much better later. There's a new POV in this chapter so please tell me if you like it. Here's chapter 8!**

**Phyre POV**

We all sit huddled inside the car, waiting for J and Diesel to get here so we can leave. My stomach growls, making dying whale sounds and I shove my fist over it, trying to muffle the sound. I haven't eaten properly in years, but at least we've HAD food. I don't want to get out, though, for food. I'll be fine for a while. I look over at Cassie, who's shaking.

"It's cold. Winter's coming soon. Any day now," I look at the small girl as she shakes, her arms wrapped around her small shaking form.

"How do you know that?" I knew myself, but I was almost mystified that Cassie, so young, would be able to tell. She looks up at me, her eyes big, a slight grin pulling at the edges of her lips.

"My Momma taught me when I was very little. I don't really remember it, but Daddy taught me once I was better at remembering things," She looks out the window and I look over at the twins. They, too, are shaking from how cold. It wasn't as cold outside a few minutes ago. I start thinking, trying to remember what this could mean. My brain seems to not be functioning properly because it's failing to pull out what I need to know. Someone gasps and I look up to see it was Star.

"What is it?" I ask her, worry written all over her, her fingers lightly resting on her lips.

"Storm. A huge one," I start thinking about huge storms that could happen. I gasp, too, jumping out of the car. Everyone's screaming at me to get back in the car, but I keep running, searching desperately for J and Diesel. I turn quickly and see a flash of movement. I catch sight of a blue shirt. Diesel. "DIESEL!" I scream, running towards him at full speed as the rain hits me hard. I imagine it as bullets falling from the sky as I run, shaking the thought out of my mind.

**Diesel POV**

I turn at the sound of my name, immediately knowing it's Phyre and worry takes over me.

"Phyre, what's wrong?" I shout as I start towards her. She's running towards me, arms flailing all around her.

"HURRICANE!" She screams as she gets to me. I catch her in my arms, holding her closely. "It's a hurricane. We need to get out of here NOW," I easily detected the worry and urgency in her voice. I nod.

"We need to find J first,"

"Of course we do. We're not leaving anyone behind," Phyre wiggles out of my arms and starts running, screaming J's name. I do the same, searching for him.

"OVER HERE!" I hear him shout. Phyre, who is about 50 feet away from me, meet my eyes. And then, we're running towards J's voice. Phyre reaches him first and hugs him. He's standing in the clearing, holding Phyre and seems to have another bag or two. I didn't think that we had anything else still in the clearing, but shrug it off. She quickly informs him that there's a hurricane coming and he takes her arm, pulling her behind him.

"Hey, man. You don't have to drag her. She completely capable of running herself," Phyre yanks her arm out of his grasp.

"Of course I can run. You don't have to drag me after you. I can follow just fine. Now let's get back to the kids," Phyre starts running and I feel the rain start to pour down harder, much harder than before, so hard it starts to hurt. I run after Phyre, J following on my heels. She's just in front of me so I start to pick up speed, trying to reach her. I don't know if she doesn't want me to be beside her as she runs or not, but she speeds up, obviously against what her body really wants to do. I can tell she's about exhausted, but I won't make her slow down. Once she gets something in her head, it isn't leaving and she'll fight you until you let her do whatever she wants.

As we run, I feel the wind start blowing harder, faster. Nervous, I start going faster, though I know my body won't be able to go any faster than this. I get right behind Phyre. I hear something towards the right, almost as if something's ripping. Scared, I turn my head. I resist a gasp. Too close, a swirling vortex of wind and rain spins out of control across the woods, getting closer. In front of me, Phyre runs, screaming at Star and the kids to start the car. I get closer to Phyre and pick her up. She gasps and I start pushing harder across the ground, trying to make it. The wind makes my eyes well with tears and I let them fall shamelessly. The wind picks them up quickly anyways. Phyre buries her face into my chest. No doubt she feels my heart over working itself. I hear J coming up at my heels and I see the car's lights come on. The kids seem to be screaming at us through the closed doors of the Ridgeline. Luca starts smacking the window with his palms, making the others do the same. Star's sitting in the driver's seat, but it leaning out of the seat, screaming along with the kids.

I take longer strides to get there, trying to get to them. Star looks out the window and starts screaming louder. They open the backseat door closest to us and Star positions herself in a better position to drive as we get closer. Earth sticks her hand out towards us, beckoning us. Hands are around her seconds later, pulling her away. Just as she got out of the way, a huge tree tears through the sky, hitting the door and breaking it completely off. Phyre starts screaming in my arms.

"EARTH!" I hold her tighter, knowing she'll start to run and she shouldn't run. The car's right there in front of us.

"GO!" I scream. I look back up at the spiraling wind tunnel in the sky. It's almost right on top of us.

"WHAT?!" Luca screams. "WE'RE NOT LEAVING YOU GUYS! YOU DON'T MAKE IT, WE DON'T MAKE IT!" The others nod, including, surprisingly, Star. She smiles gently and nods.

"YOU CAN MAKE IT!" Cassie screams. "JUST A LITTLE FARTHER!" At that moment, the hurricane gets to us, whipping Phyre's hair around us in a circle of red, which terrified me for a moment. Her hair looked so much like blood at that moment. I shake my head and she pulls her hair away from my face as I continue to run. We get into the car and dive inside, J hopping inside the front seat beside Star.

"Step on it!" Phyre yells. Star puts her foot on the gas and we start speeding off. After a few minutes of staring back at the hurricane, it seems to start following us. "Uh, Star? Could you go any faster?!" Phyre asks, obviously nervous and scared. Star nods and we go a little faster.

"We need to go faster than this. We'll never make it," J comments.

"Oh, thanks for being so optimistic. You helped calm me so much," Phyre basically yells, completely irritated. J doesn't answer and Star goes faster. I see that we're going 90 and look back at the storm. It seems to be losing power, but Phyre tells Star to keep going straight. The way we drove will leave us in the woods a good 10 minutes away from the road. After about 5 more minutes, Phyre has her slow down and start towards the road. She does and I can see the tension in her shoulders and arms relax into a more comfortable position. We get to the road and slowly get on it, driving normal. This road wasn't too full near us, but behind us was insanely packed, car on top of car. I sigh, silently thanking God and Phyre that we didn't get stuck there. We keep driving, the whole silent now the shock of the events is over. I hold Phyre's hand because I can see in her eyes and emotionless expression that she doesn't want to be held right now. She squeezes gently and I look over at her and see tears in her eyes.

I squeeze back and we keep driving.

**4 Hours Later**

**Star POV**

"Pull over into that forest, please," Phyre says suddenly, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen upon us. I do as she told me and stop the car a little ways inside. I park the car and turn it off. Phyre opens her door and starts running, getting her head behind a bush. We can hear her gagging and heaving.

_She's puking. You know, when all the food that was in her stomach comes out of her mouth._

I sigh, wrinkling my nose in disgust as Roni sends multiple memories from when she puked. I look behind me, suddenly aware of a pair of eyes on me. Diesel's staring at me, a look of confusion on his face. I blush a little and look away. I start wondering why he was looking at me.

_Relax, Star. He was just looking. I've always said "You can look, but you can't touch." So, relax about it. Plus, he's got a girlfriend that he obviously adores._

I smile gently at Roni's words. She's always made me feel better. When I was first inserted, she was there, teaching me about common everyday life. She told me stories about her life, her friends. We found one of her friends one time, Olivia, but she wasn't there like Roni still is. But I've grown to love Roni like a sister. She's very sweet and was never hostile towards me and my kind like I had been told some humans could be.

After a few seconds, the car door opens again and Diesel goes to Phyre, who's still behind the bush. He gives her some water and I look away. She probably doesn't want to be seen. I stare out the windshield, staring at a little red bird, its wings fluttering in the wind, beating too fast for my eyes to see clearly.

"How long have ou been in that body?" J asks. I look over at him. He's sitting beside me, his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest.

"A few months," I answer, trying not to get him angry. I really wasn't very used to humans, but seeing as how he hurt Phyre, one of his own species, I wouldn't like to see what he'd do to me if I got under his skin. He nods, though, and the car goes back to silence. "Why did Phyre…do that?" I ask, trying not to be intrusive, but I've been confused about that. Roni knows as much as I do so she can't help me very well.

"She used to get motion sickness when we were little, but eventually grew out of that. But when she gets too emotional, or nervous or something, she just loses it. It's really insane. But it never happens when she's angry, which I think is sort of funny,"

"Why?" He looks at me.

"She's a ginger, very prone to anger," I shake my head.

"I'm sorry. I don't know a lot of your human 'slang', so to speak," He laughs a little at that.

"Sometimes _we _don't even understand slang," He says. I gawk at him.

"How? You invented it, didn't you Humans, I mean. How do you not understand?" He laughs.

"Because some people have accents along with slang so it's hard to tell what they're saying. Others just use slang that no one else uses, which also makes it difficult," I nod, starting to try to understand. Roni's laughter is echoing almost painfully in my skull, leaving me with a throbbing head ache.

_Sorry. It's just so comical that you don't understand slang. I showed you my best friends and they all used slang._

_Yes, but when they talk it didn't sound weird. These people sound different. Except for Diesel. He sounds a little like you and your friends did. Hey, maybe he's from the same place you are, Roni._

_No. _She answers forcibly. _Sorry about that. I shouldn't have been so rude. No, he sounds a little different than my friends and I did. But you unknowingly changed my accent and completely got rid of my slang._

_I'm sorry. Truly I am. _I told her shyly. I now know that I basically completely changed her and I feel terrible about it.

_Don't feel bad, Star. You didn't mean to. You otld me yourself that souls are sent to a planet and have no choice about what boy they might want. And you don't mean to change me. It really is ok, Star._

_Still, I'm sorry._

_It's fine. Look Diesel and Phyre are coming back._

I look up from where I'd been staring at the steering wheel and see Phyre walking beside Diesel, her arm through his. I smile at them as they get back into the car.

"Sorry about that. Now, we can keep driving. Star, you don't have to drive anymore,"

"Yeah she does," J said. I look between them and see the anger rising in Phyre's eyes. "She's a soul. And a damn good driver. Much better than any of us. And there's not the risk of speeding when she drives. She needs to drive," The anger slowly faded in Phyre's eyes. After a few minutes of staring at each other, she nods at me.

"Drive, please, Star," I smile, nod, and start the car again.

At least I can be of some help to Phyre and the kids.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, guys. What do you think about Star having a human in her head? Too predictable? Well, what happens next will hopefully not be expected. Not much happened the last chapter, just a hurricane and puking (which, by the way, I had not expected or planned until I just started typing it. It's actually how I write, like I'm reading the story and my subconscious is making it up as I go along.) Sorry, I'm rambling. I'll let you read now. By the way, this chapter has a new POV and is sort of long. Enjoy!**

**J POV**

I sat in the front seat beside Star as she drove. I had my sunglasses on as we go the way we came as we try to get as far as possible from the storm. I suggested we go towards the middle of the country, but then Phyre spoke up and said she always wanted to go to California. So, with a sigh, I said it would be fine. I really wanted to see the exact city that marks the middle of the United States. I always thought it would be awesome to be able to say that I've been right in the middle of the country. But, then again, I can't tell anyone anymore. No one's left to tell things. And the people I know that are still here are with me to go see it. I guess it was stupid, but I still wouldn't mind going to see it.

Star puts her signal light on and changes lanes. Earth and Luca are listening to some gothic band that Phyre would know, but I don't want to ask and feel stupid. This girl's voice is actually unreal. She's going to such a high pitch obviously with little to no difficulty. I turn around and look at them.

"What is this?" I ask. Earth continues singing along.

"Valentine by Xandria. They were a gothic band from Germany. I love them. I usually don't like gothic music, but I love them and Evanescence. Great stuff from both bands. This is one of their most popular songs. One of my favorites is 'Vampire' because I like the lyrics. They've got great stuff," Luca says, quickly flipping through songs while Earth continues to sing. Phyre starts singing along with her, somehow managing to go to the lady's high pitch and still manage to sound beautiful. The song ends and another one starts playing. "This is Vampire by Xandria," The song was interesting. The lyrics are so dark, but it _is _gothic music. I don't think Evanescence is this dark. I look up and see Phyre staring at me, a look on her face I can't decipher.

"What?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"If you're thinking about the differences between Xandria and Evanescence, there are very few of them. Xandria doesn't have super dark lyrics. Their lyrics are like Evanescence's lyrics," I stare at her, gaping. "Well, I can tell that's what you were thinking about from your expression. Don't you look at me like that. We used to know each other so well. Don't pull shit on me, J. I'm not in the mood," She looks out the window, silent as she stares at the clouds. I remember her telling me once that she wanted to touch the clouds one day, that she couldn't care less as to how much land she sees. No one's ever seen the clouds up close and come back to tell others about their beauty, at least in her mind. I sigh and turn around as more music from Xandria echoes through the car.

I sigh, knowing it'll be a long car ride to hell. A destination would really help make it go faster. I close my eyes, pretending to sleep while I really try to.

**Phyre POV**

I can't take my eyes off this cloud. I just keep staring. I feel tears rise in my eyes from the minutes I've sat without blinking once, but I can't take the chance. I can't just let it disappear from view. If I do, I'll never see it again. I push the button that rolls the window down and feel the wind whip across my face, harshly grabbing at my hair and freezing my face. Tears start falling from my eyes but I don't wipe them away. The wind seems to wipe them off my cheeks with her cold fingers. It seems to be whispering in my ears.

_Phyre._ I seems to whisper to me. _You mustn't cry, darling. Please don't cry, love._

I feel like I want to gasp. The voice sounded just like my mom. More tears fall as I remember her. Her beautiful hair that went just past her shoulders. The way she held me on her lap when we lived in Germany and sing to me in so many different languages. When Mom and I all ran through the sprinklers at our home here. Her lovely face that light up when Dad would get to come see us. Her joy every time I would do something for her just to see her smile and the tears rise in her eyes. When she let me hold Earth and Luca. The way she smiled at us. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that the car is fading, as if it's evaporating, taking me to the clouds. I smile, laughing a little, finally getting to get to the clouds myself. We rise in the air, turning insanely, but I keep my eyes on the cloud. We're getting closer to it and my excitement grows. The music fades just as the car did and soon the voices stop, no one's talking anymore.

I reach my arm up, my eyes wide and painfully dry, but I refuse to close them. We get closer and my fingers gently caress the cloud. It felt as if silk, honey, and the softest things on the planet were combined into the softest pillow. I start closing my hand around it, but it easily slips from my grasp.

"Wait," I croak. I reach with both hands to just hold the cloud. It seems to start mocking me, though. It seems to be whispering to me.

_You can't hold me. You can touch, but not hold. I'm floating away now and you won't be able to catch me. I wander the sky like you wander the ground. You're never meant to come up here. Not until your time is up. Enjoy your time here. It won't last long._

I gasp, sitting straight up, blinking rapidly as I rub my eyes. Diesel puts a hand on my back and I look at him. His face is written with worry.

"Are you ok?" He asks. I look around and see the twins and Cassie are asleep. J seems to be asleep, too. Only Star is awake. I nod. "What'd you dream about? You were crying," I blink.

"It was a dream," I whisper. I shake my head. "I don't remember," He looks at me, his eyes slightly narrowing, but shrugs and I curl into his arms.

That wouldn't be the last lie I would tell him.

**Laurynn POV**

I start to become aware and start to open my eyes. When they don't open, I start to worry. Why won't my eyes open? Terrified, I start trying to move my arm, finger, leg, wrist, anything. Nothing even twitches. What the hell is happening?! I suddenly feel something else, something a little stronger. It seems to be inside me. I realize that this…presence is one of them. I have one. It's moving inside my body, taking control, pushing me into a corner so I can be forgotten, discarded. Furious, I start trying to make a wall around my important things, my secrets, my precious memories. I stay silent, trying to stay out of its way. I'm treating it as if it's a disease.

_Whoa. _It thinks. I hide deeper in the back of my mind, desperately clinging onto life, but also trying to hide from it. I keep checking all my walls, making sure nothing slips out. I soon see the memory, what should have been my last memory. The memory of my 'death'.

_I sneak inside the house. The night is dark, good for hiding, but also bad for being able to get out quickly and quietly, considering my clumsiness. I walk silently on the tiles of the kitchen. My stomach starts to make noises, knowing instinctively that food is right in front of it. I stuff my fist in it, trying my best to keep it quiet. No one, even though the house is empty, should know I'm here or have been here._

_I walk to a cabinet and open one. It squeaks, and I freeze, straining to hear if anyone's inside the house beside me. After a minute of no other noise, I take out a can of soup. It'll be cold by the time I'll get to eat, but still be ok to eat. Still edible, which is all I really care about anymore. I toss a few more cans into the drawstring bag I stole from the last house and open the cabinet beside it. Mm, they have cookies. Sugar, my favorite kind. I greedily throw them in, too, and move to the fridge. The light blinds my momentarily, but I soon find the button and keep my finger on it as I dig around, finding things my touch instead of sight. I find a few containers of what I hope is food and take some water bottles._

_I shut the door of the fridge and start towards the door. This is, of course, when the cans of soup I took earlier decide to bang together loudly, echoing through the house. I take the bag off my back and hold it tightly to my chest, trying to keep the noise quiet. I just pray that they left the windows closed. I stand still, trying hard to not take loud, shallow breaths. I feel a panic attack start to creep up on me and throw my over the edge, but I've practiced and I've almost got them under control. But it's much more difficult when you're in the middle of enemy territory to relax._

_Still terrified and not fully satisfied that I'm alone, I rush towards the door. I bang my right hip into a table, gasping with the throbbing pain as it shoots through me. It feels as if I've been shot again. Limping, mainly keeping my weight on my left side, I get out the door and try to run towards the fields behind the house. I get about halfway there when I blinding light hits my back, warming me._

"_Remain calm," A deep voice, obviously male, says. The light goes away. A few footsteps and his hands are on my waist, going up. Fear of my memories, of the too familiar pattern, of the terror, flood back and in a matter of moments, in my fury and anger mixed with fear, I pull away quickly, punching the man behind me as hard as I can. He gasps, grunts, and falls down on his back. I look down, tears streaming down my face with the throbbing pain in both my hip and hand._

"_I promised myself no one would touch me again," I whisper, my voice shaking but obviously determined, fierce. "And I intend to keep that promise," I pick up my bag, which I had dropped when I punched the man, and start running, trying to get away from the world, trying to hide._

"_Wait," I hear someone call. The man. More tears start to fall as I start to worry that I broke his nose or something and I start trying to go fast, though I know I won't be able to. "Hey, wait!" He yells. I hear running footsteps hit the ground powerfully behind me and gasp as I start to fall. I look down at the new pain in my ankle and see I twisted it on a damn tree root._

"_Shit," I whisper as I start trying to get up. Pain shoots up my leg, painfully hurting my already pained hip and I fall back down. The footsteps slow and stop in front of me. I don't look up at the man. I don't think I could bear to see what I did to him. I just keep trying to at least stand. Then maybe hobble my way through the forest. I know it's over, though. The man's right behind me. Why doesn't he stop me, put me to sleep, go ahead and do it? I feel two strong hands grip my forearms tightly. "Hey!" I say loudly. "Let me go! Put me down!" I start kicking, though the pain runs through my leg again when my ankle hits a nearby tree._

"_I'm so sorry, Miss. You'll be out of pain soon," I feel a mist spray in front of my face. I have trained myself, though, to never breathe in anything that's sprayed in front of me. I hold my breath, refusing to breath even though my lungs painfully object to this decision. Once the spray seems to disappear from in front of me, I take deep breaths through my nose so as not to gasp loudly and give away I held my breath. He's silent as I start trying to kick him again. He grunts and holds my arms tighter. I feel the blood start to drain and I'm certain that my arms are red and white._

"_That hurts," I whisper. "Why does everyone hurt me?" I ask. I've always wondered this, pondered this as I went through life, all my hardships. I wasn't trying to get his sympathy, I just wanted my question answered._

"_I'm sorry," He says. He lets my arms go and turns me to face him. I can't tell what he looks like, but the spray comes again. "Please, just breathe this in. You won't ever be hurt again,"_

"_But I don't want to die," I say, trying to keep my sobs back. "I just want to live without pain, both physical and emotional pain. I want to be smart and live a good life, find someone to be with me forever, grow a family. I hate being alone. If I'm going to die, I don't want it to be alone," I start sobbing, tears racing down my cheeks. He closes his eyes and sighs. I swear I see a tear fall down his cheek, sliding slowly downward. "Please answer me," I whisper, my voice cracking. "Why does everyone always have to hurt me?" He takes a shaky breath and looks at me. I see pity in his big glowing silver eyes. I almost see a hint of green in them, but the silver washes it out. I wonder what color his eyes were before._

"_They hurt you because they're afraid," He says. I feel my eyes widen. He's actually answering. "They're afraid because you're powerful, brave, beautiful. They're scared of your power,"_

"_Is that why I have to be erased? Why I must disappear from Earth?" He nods sharply. "That doesn't make sense, Sir. I'm sorry, but I don't understand why I have to die just because people are afraid. People were afraid of other people before that one person stood up and talked, conversed with the other people, the ones that scared the others. Why not be like them, Sir, and let those of us in hiding live? Don't we deserve a life?" I ask. I'm mainly asking this from pure curiosity. I know I'm a goner, but I still don't understand why I have to die, why others must die. He swallows, his eyes closing again._

"_Between you and me, I don't really understand it either. You seem like a good person, but I must do my job," I close my eyes and nod._

"_I want to tell you something before I die, though,"_

"_What?" His voice is thick. Why should he care?_

"_My name is Laurynn. Laurynn Mackenzie Garretson. You can spray me now. I'll go peacefully now," I smile slightly. "I can be with my parents now, my friends, my daughter," I feel a tear slide down my cheek again. The spray goes in my face again and darkness consumes me._

I feel tears sliding down my face again, just as they did then. I stay silent though, watching as it reacts to my memory. It's silent, but I watch as she thinks.

_Laurynn Mackenzie Garretson. _It thinks. It keeps wondering about everything. I can tell my name seems like a foreign thing, but it _is _from another planet. I drop some walls, letting memories wash over it, coating it in the happiness and the sadness, the pain I went through. It sighs in my head, silently watching as my mom holds me tightly as we get on the train, riding away from home, from my dad's grave. She wanted me to keep my head down, but I couldn't help but watch out the window as we went by, everything a blur. I remember smiling in amazement. Mom had taken me out of that cart and boxed my ears, yelling at me, telling me I shouldn't smile. Dad was dead for Christ sake. I had sobbed and she held me tightly against her chest as I sobbed. She had sobbed with me. We went back to our seats afterward and I didn't look out the window. I rarely smiled since then.

She watched as my daughter was born, as I held her, vowing then that I would never hurt her. That's when her dad walked in and I started sobbing, knowing I would soon have to go back to that hell hole, be raped again, have my daughter hear me sob, hear me scream from pain.

"_You can name her," He told me. I looked up, astonished. His eyes were filled with love, but I knew it wasn't true. He was probably happy I had a daughter, that way he could have two women once she as older. I shuddered and he put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his chest._

"_Kaia Victoria," I say, whispering it to her. Colton tells the nurse and she asks me how to spell her name._

_The next day, we went back to the house, which was a mansion, and walked into the nursery. I sang to her gently, her bright ice blue eyes staring up at me in wonder. She soon fell fast asleep in my arms, but I continued t sing quietly as I slowly walked towards her crib. "But you will be safe in my arms. In my arms," I whisper the end, kiss her forehead, and lay her in her crib. I turn around and see Colton leaning against the doorframe. I smile slightly._

"_She has your eyes," He says. I smile._

"_But she looks just like you," I say. I look back down at her, smiling at her._

"_That means she beautiful," I laugh a little, not in a mean way, just in a you're-silly way. He smiles at me and takes my hand, leading me towards the bedroom. I don't want to go. I want to watch my daughter._

_But I go anyways._

**Hope you enjoyed the long chapter. New character! Her middle name is actually my first name because I thought it flowed well. The song that Laurynn sang to Kaia was 'In My Arms' by Plumb (who I just recently found). Please review!**


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